I say to people today, 'You must be prepared if you believe in something. If you believe in something, you have to go for it. As individuals, we may not live to see the end.

If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it.

You cannot be afraid to speak up and speak out for what you believe. You have to have courage, raw courage.

We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us.

When people tell me nothing has changed, I say come walk in my shoes and I will show you change.

If you're not hopeful and optimistic, then you just give up. You have to take that long hard look and just believe that if your consistent, you will succeed

I say from time to time that the vote is precious. It's almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool or instrument that we have in a democratic society. And we must use it.

Don't give up! Don't give in! Keep the faith! And keep your eyes on the prize!

You cannot give up - you have to be persistent and keep pushing, and press on.

I truly believe that one day we will get there, we will arrive. And if we do it right in America, maybe, just maybe, we can serve as a model for the rest of the world.

You have to have the capacity and the ability to take what people did, and how they did it, and forgive them and move on.

Don't worry about what others think about you

Technically, if a girl wants to sparkle she can put on glitter but I think the correct answer would be a smile because no one pays attention to your short when you have a nice smile on your face.

I was a straight-A student, baby!

I feel a little like Rod Tidwell from Jerry Maguire

If you cannot speak your brokenness, your brokenness will speak for you.

Ill never be, like, sippy cup country, or write about everything I do around the house.

Most of the people are no thicker than Formica, yet they hunger obscurely for some continuity with the place and with each other.

The universe is governed by science. But science tells us that we can't solve the equations, directly in the abstract.

The fact is that Americans are not a thoughtful people; they are too busy to stop and question their values.

Writers are the custodians of memory, and that's what this chapter is about: how to leave some kind of record of your life and of the family you were born into.